How do people obtain off-cycle internships/shadowing experiences?
I know these opportunities exist because people on LinkedIn have random work experience entries where the dates don't align with vac scheme dates or the work experience lasts for over a month. How do they find out about these and how can I?
You have to dig deep. But more often than not (when it comes to shadowing Gov Professionals/Counsels/etc) it's through "networking". Typically they know someone who knows someone. Some people with this experience will say it's because they "just sent an email in" with their CV, but it's only allowed because they can mention that they know someone that the professional/company networks with.
I realised this when I got my mentor at the start of my MA. He runs a Social Strategy firm in LDN. He informed me that in big roles for internships (not organised), they usually ask interviewees who they know etc. They wanna vet you out for your connects! This was made more clear when my diss supervisor gave me access to academics he knew from all over the country. And once I met them, they mentioned more people that they knew so it became a snowball effect. Sadly that's how it works. You mostly get access to these things because of your connection. I have not encountered anyone who gained an off-cycle experience without knowing someone. That's not to say that an alternative approach doesn't exist, but I have not seen anything outside of this. Grad scheme and general internships are the best bet!
I was so upset not securing a grad role or internship during uni, especially compared to my friends. But when I asked how they got their gigs the overwhelming amount got it because of their parent's STRONG connections.
My friend got a Wank of England Internship cause his mom's a big-time journalist for the BBC and had connects in the company - now he's on the grad scheme. Another friend interned for her Dad's journalism NGO (which he founded), and now she's in PR. The list could go on and on.
